In recent years, health officials have warned people who keep bearded dragons, hedgehogs, ducks and chickens as pets to play a role in preventing the spread of salmonella.
Well, salmonella infections are on the rise across 11 states It has been linked to small turtles, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging people who keep the reptile as pets to issue safety instructions.
Simple advice from health officials is: ‘Don’t kiss or cuddle turtles’.
The CDC said last week that the salmonella epidemic had sickened 26 people and hospitalized at least nine in recent months. No deaths have been reported, according to the agency.
All turtles can carry salmonella, which can make people sick, but turtles with shell lengths of less than 4 inches are known to cause the disease, according to the CDC. In 1975, the Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of turtles less than four inches long. At that time, there were thousands of cases of severe illness, especially among children who touched pet turtles and touched their food or mouth without washing.
Authorities said earlier this month that turtle owners and those looking to buy turtles should keep a few things in mind. Do not buy turtles for children under the age of 5 or adults over the age of 65. Wash your hands after touching turtles. And don’t drink or eat around turtles.
According to the CDC, about a third of people who get sick during the current epidemic are under the age of five. Of the 20 infected people who provided information to the CDC, 16 said they had contact with pet turtles. Twelve of them said their pet turtles had shells less than four inches long.
Salmonella, a type of bacterium, causes approximately 1.35 million illnesses, 26,500 hospitalizations and 420 deaths in the United States each year, according to the CDC.
Most people with salmonellosis, an infection caused by salmonella, develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal pain. In more severe cases, it can cause high fever, pain, headache, malaise, rash, blood in the urine and stools, and even death.
Other Salmonella outbreaks have also been associated with animals, issuing similar warnings about getting too close to them. During the 2019 hedgehog outbreak, health officials advised people to avoid kissing small, pointy friends. In 2021, there was an outbreak of Salmonella associated with backyard poultry. The authorities at the time basically told us not to kiss or snuggle with ducks and chickens. A similar salmonella warning was issued in 2014 for bearded dragons.
In 2002, an Oklahoma man contracted salmonella from a pet snake and passed the disease on to two others through platelet transfusions. Both recipients fell ill and one died, according to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Even dog owners aren’t immune to the dangers of cuddling. Some bacteria in a dog’s mouth are zoonotic, meaning animals can transmit them to humans, causing diseases such as salmonella.
Even cat lovers can have problems.Cornell Cat Health Center report Humans can get salmonella from infected cats, especially those that eat raw meat, and the bacteria can be passed on in their stool. The center recommends wearing gloves when cleaning toilets.
